After “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” actor Sean Penn barely skidded the realm of being typecast and completely destroyed his break out role by taking on a new form as a dramatic actor. One of his more intense efforts is the 1983 “Bad Boys,” an underrated but excellent near masterpiece about boys on the verge of being men who don’t realize they’re about to become hardened criminals if they don’t break out of their cycles of violence soon. “Bad Boys” is a message at the core about when these young men will transform in to individuals capable of being tried as adults and when they will eventually make it in to an actual penitentiary. In the realm of “Bad Boys,” the penitentiary is the final stop for these young men, and counselor Ramon Herrerra makes a point of showing main character Mick O’Brien his environment, if he doesn’t find a way to change his fate soon.
Ultraseven: The Complete Series (DVD)
Courtesy of Shout! Factory, Tsuburaya Productions iconic “Ultraseven” series from 1967 is available on DVD in a fully restored edition with all episodes present and accounted for. With subtitles options and a crisp picture and color scheme, “Ultraseven” is about as good as it’s ever been, a truly interesting and entertaining icarnation of Ultra Man that promises to keep audiences watching.
“Ultraseven” focuses on the Terrestrial Defense Force establishes the Ultra Guard, Earth’s six guardians who act as enforcers for the planet, protecting citizens from extra terrestrials and monsters with the use of high tech machinery and vehicles.
Red Cloud
From Red Cloud Comics comes the prologue to Sioux Cloud’s short indie drama thriller “Red Cloud: Deliverance.” Taking off from the short film’s original premise about an enigmatic man with a violent past who seeks peace in a rented room, this is the comic before his newest chapter. In case anyone who saw “Red Cloud: Deliverance” were wondering why the climax ended the way it did, this is the comic book that basically lays the ground work.
Red Cloud: Deliverance (2012)
Sioux Cloud and Hezues R’s short “Red Cloud” is a film very much in the vein of “The Professional” and “Gone Baby Gone,” a short dramatic thriller that has potential to be a wider more full length story, in the end. “Red Cloud: Deliverance” is a very powerful and engrossing exploration of a man escaping his past and his demons, and in the process is confronted by a young girl facing her own demons on a daily basis.
Apocalypse of the Dead (2009)
I don’t know why indie filmmakers are still under the delusion that referencing horror maestros in some form during your film is clever or cute. Granted, it worked to some effect in “Night of the Creeps,” and in a slight degree in “Final Destination,” but now every indie filmmaker who drudges up a zombie movie feels the need to reference George Romero or Tom Savini in some way. There is actually a character off-screen named Agent Savini. Come on, quit it. I’m surprised there wasn’t a Romero hospital by Fulci street and Nicotero Lane. Hey, that’s going in my screenplay! “Apocalypse of the Dead” basically combines “Assault on Precinct 13” with “Dawn of the Dead” and completely throws the shit in the fan.
Zombie Town (2007)
Someone, somewhere thought it’d be a good idea. Whether it was the choice of the filmmakers, the producers, or the distributor, someone thought it’d be a good idea to title this zombie flick “Night of the Creeps 2: Zombie Town.” I guess someone thought since this is a zombie film revolving around parasitic slugs that create the walking dead, therefore it should be considered a sequel.
Maybe someone loved the Fred Dekker cult classic and thought this would eventually be considered a sequel if they branded it as such. In any case, “Zombie Town” is about as much of a sequel to “Night of the Creeps” as those awful Taurus Entertainment sequels “Creepshow III” and “Day of the Dead: Contagium” are to their respective classic films.
Underworld: Awakening (2012)
What cruel irony that the latest subtitle for the mediocre “Underworld” series is called “Awakening” since for the most part I found myself incapable of staying awake through the majority of it. If you’re looking for a cure for insomnia and don’t want medication, put on “Underworld: Awakening” and you’ll definitely be out like a light within ten minutes. After writing off the series and expanding her horizons, Kate Beckinsale comes crawling back to her husband’s film series that made her a star and reprises the role of Selene. Still one of the most one-dimensional and cardboard action heroines of contemporary genre cinema, Selene is back yet again this time on the run from pretty much everyone. After years of the war between the vampires and the lycans (ugh), the human race has finally caught on.